Leon, Protector of the Playground Debuts in Baltimore

Kids Love Comics returns to the 2017 Baltimore Comic-Con this September 22nd, 23rd, and 24th at the Baltimore Convention Center. Kids 10 and under are free with the purchase of General Admission tickets, which are available now on our website.

Jamar Nicholas launches his all-ages graphic novel at BCC! What do you do when you’re a kid hero with the rarest super-power of all: common sense? Award-winning cartoonist and educator Jamar Nicholas tries to answer that question with his new graphic novel, LEON: Protector of the Playground, premiering in the Kids Love Comics (kidslovecomics.net) area at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Jamar joins over 30 all-ages comics creators in this special family-friendly section of the show, where kids can meet artists and writers, and participate in comics workshops and classes throughout the weekend.

LEON combines a hip latchkey kid super-hero with hilarious super villains, such as Broccoli Ron, Mr. Nipsey the hamster bad-guy, and rogue hall monitors. All this, plus daily life in public school, makes a smart, super fun graphic novel read. LEON was created as part of the Comic Book Diner trilogy of books (including Buzzboy by John Gallagher and Roboy Red by Rich Faber, both of which will be available in the Kids Love Comics section). LEON combines elements of Jamar’s childhood with a diverse cast of kids and almost every child’s fantasy of being a super hero. But Leon must also face the harsh realities of a working mom, learning to work with others, and to clean up after himself when he eats. “I wanted to create characters that kids could relate to,” said Jamar, adding, “LEON is a hero, but he also makes mistakes. And kids need to know that’s okay, as long as they work to make things better.”

Besides LEON, convention goers will also be able to get Jamar’s work on the BCC show program guide as well as on a special collectible BCC t-shirt. Why all the fuss? Well, one of Jamar’s biggest fans is none other than Marc Nathan, founder and director of the Baltimore Comic-Con. “Jamar is a good soul, and a true friend of the show” said Nathan. “And we at the Baltimore Comic-Con want to help everyone discover what that looks like in Jamar’s work.” In fact, the Baltimore Comic-Con has been helping to promote kid-friendly comics and creators since the show’s beginning, and now brags the largest kids’ section in any comic-con across the United States. So it seemed only natural to premiere the graphic novel in Baltimore. “I just hope that everyone enjoys LEON as much as I enjoyed working on it,” said Jamar. “And I’m proud to be a part of the Kids Love Comics crew in Baltimore!”

LEON: Protector of the Playground, an original graphic novel, is a 144-page, full-color graphic novel, available at Jamar’s booth on LEON LANE in the Kids Love Comics section, for the first time anywhere. More information is available at JamarNicholas.com.